At the Promise Ball there will be a moment after the live auction when the room is stilled and the story of hope unfolds; we call this special time our Fund A Cure. During this time, guests will have the opportunity to donate directly to research and fund the science that will one day transform the lives of our family members and friends with type 1 diabetes. If you cannot attend the event, you still have the opportunity to support JDRF. 100% of your Fund A Cure donation goes to JDRF research.

The Jane Jospey Cobb Promise Award is bestowed to individuals who have distinguished themselves in advancing the mission of JDRF through their support of research and research related education.

We are pleased to recognize the following past recipients who have received this honor:

2016: Grant & Sue Beard

2015: Cynthia Ford

(Lifetime Achievement Award)

2014: Marvin & Lauren Daitch

2013: Tom & Jackie McInerney

2012: Ron & Carol Dooley

2011: Tim & Jean Jennings

2010: Mrs. Rita C. Haddow

Dr. Fred Whitehouse

(Lifetime Achievement Award)

2009: Mr. Martin Shoushanian

2008: Cynthia & Edsel B. Ford II

2007: Mr. Jim Queen

2006: David & Jennifer Fischer

2005: Mr. Jack Haire

2004: Mr. James A. Hiller

HISTORY OF THE

JANE JOSPEY COBB

PROMISE AWARD

History of the

Jane Jospey Cobb Award

Jane was one of the founding members and past board president of the Metro Detroit Chapter. Jane died in 1997 at the age of 53 from diabetes complications. Diagnosed with type 1 at the age of 20 month, she lost her sight at age 23. Jane has two adopted daughters, Allison and Anne, and was married to Robert Cobb.

Jane was a graduate of the University of Michigan. She was a dynamic individual with a terrific memory, mathematically inclined and always ready to learn something new. She enjoyed all the gadgets that had been developed to assist the blind in their daily living.

She opened a boutique in the Somerset Mall specializing in travel items. Later she operated a specialty upscale gift basket store in the Prudential Town Center. In her late forties, Jane became a student in Detroit Receiving Hospital’s Visually Handicapped Services Program. She was anticipating going back to school to earn a Master’s degree in English and Psychology and wanted to be up-to-date in the latest technology available to assist the blind. Jane died before she could realize these goals.

This award is in memory of Jane L. Jospey Cobb, a founding member of the JDRF-Metro Detroit & S.E. MI Chapter who, through her outstanding service, enabled the chapter to raise millions of dollars for diabetes research. She is remembered as a courageous woman whose remarkable dedication, passion for research and indomitable spirit continue to be an inspiration to all.

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disease in which a person’s pancreas stops producing insulin, a hormone people need to get energy from food. T1D strikes both children and adults at any age and suddenly. Its onset has nothing to do with diet or lifestyle. Though T1D’s causes are not yet entirely understood, scientists believe that both genetic factors and environmental triggers play a role. There is currently nothing you can do to prevent it, and there is no cure.

Life with T1D

Living with T1D is a constant balancing act. People with T1D must regularly monitor their blood-sugar level, inject or continually infuse insulin through a pump, and carefully balance their insulin doses with eating and daily activities throughout the day and night. Take advantage of JDRF T1D resources and support.

Ask people who have T1D, and they will tell you: it’s difficult. It’s upsetting. It’s life threatening. It never goes away. But at the same time, people with T1D serve as an inspiration by facing the disease’s challenges with courage and perseverance, and they don’t let it stand in the way of achieving their goals.

“Both children and adults like me who live with type 1 diabetes need to be mathematicians, physicians, personal trainers, and dietitians all rolled into one. We need to be constantly factoring and adjusting, making frequent finger sticks to check blood sugars, and giving ourselves multiple daily insulin injections just to stay alive.”

— JDRF International Chairman, Mary Tyler Moore

“It is a 24/7/365 job. We never get to relax and forget about food, whether we’ve exercised too much or too little, insulin injections, blood-sugar testing, or the impact of stress, a cold, a sunburn, and on and on. So many things make each day a risky venture when you live with T1D.”

— Mary Vonnegut, adult, Rhode Island

“Unlike other kids, I have to check my blood sugar 8 to 10 times a day; everything I eat is measured and every carbohydrate counted. My kit goes with me everywhere I go … Too much exercise or not eating all my food can be dangerous. I think I’m too young to have to worry about all this stuff.”

— Jonathan Platt, 8, California

“It controls your life in ways that someone without it doesn’t even see. For me, the worst part of living with T1D is the fear that my three children or their children might develop the disease.”

— Nicky Hider, adult, New York

Insulin is not a cure

While people with T1D rely on insulin therapy to control their blood sugar, insulin is not a cure nor does it prevent the possibility of the disease’s serious side effects. Even with intensive disease management, a significant portion of their day is still spent with high or low blood-sugar levels, placing people with T1D at risk for devastating complications such as heart attack, stroke, blindness, kidney disease and amputation.

Warning Signs

Warning signs of T1D may occur suddenly and can include:

• Extreme thirst

• Frequent urination

• Drowsiness or lethargy

• Increased appetite

• Sudden weight loss

• Sudden vision changes

• Sugar in the urine

• Fruity odor on the breath

• Heavy or labored breathing

• Stupor or unconsciousness

The Outlook for Treatments and a Cure

Although T1D is a serious and difficult disease, treatment options are improving all the time, and people with T1D can lead full and active lives. JDRF is driving research to progressively remove the impact of the disease from people’s lives until we ultimately achieve a world without T1D.

ABOUT JDRF

JDRF is the leading global organization funding type 1 diabetes (T1D) research. Our strength lies in our exclusive focus and singular influence on the worldwide effort to end T1D.

Vision: A world without type 1 diabetes

Mission: Accelerating life-changing breakthroughs to cure, prevent and treat T1D and its complications

Why we fight type 1 diabetes

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that strikes both children and adults suddenly. It has nothing to do with diet or lifestyle. There is nothing you can do to prevent it. And, at present, there is no cure.

In T1D, your pancreas stops producing insulin—a hormone the body needs to get energy from food. This means a process your body does naturally and automatically becomes something that now requires your daily attention and manual intervention. If you have T1D, you must constantly monitor your blood-sugar level, inject or infuse insulin through a pump, and carefully balance these insulin doses with your eating and activity throughout the day and night.

However, insulin is not a cure for diabetes. Even with the most vigilant disease management, a significant portion of your day will be spent with either high or low blood-sugar levels. These fluctuations place people with T1D at risk for potentially life-threatening hypoglycemic and hyperglycemic episodes as well as devastating long-term complications such as kidney failure, heart attack, stroke, blindness and amputation.

JDRF wants a world without T1D

JDRF works every day to change the reality of this disease for millions of people—and to prevent anyone else from ever knowing it—by funding research, advocating for government support of research and new therapies, ensuring new therapies come to market and connecting and engaging the T1D community. Founded by parents determined to find a cure for their children with T1D, JDRF expanded through grassroots fundraising and advocacy efforts to become a powerhouse in the scientific community with more than 100 U.S. locations and six international affiliates. We’ve funded nearly $2 billion in research to date and made significant progress in understanding and fighting the disease. We must keep up the pace of funding so progress doesn’t slow or stop entirely.

You’re the reason for our success.

Every dollar we put toward research comes from donations. So when you support JDRF with your time, talent, voice and, yes, your money, you enable us to advance even more research.

There are many ways to join the JDRF family, but for 45 years there has been only one reason—because we are the organization that will turn Type One into Type None.